Sewanee Theologs

Congratulations to these newly-elected clergy Regents and Trustees of the University of the South!

A blessed Feast of All Saints!
❤️‍🔥 ❤️‍🔥 ❤️‍🔥
Almighty God, you have knit together your elect in one
communion and fellowship in the mystical body of your Son
Christ our Lord: Give us grace so to follow your blessed saints
in all virtuous and godly living, that we may come to those
ineffable joys that you have prepared for those who truly love
you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy
Spirit lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.

On Thursday, Oct. 26th, the Sewanee Ministry Collaborative (SMC) and the Office of Church Relations hosted a local Thriving in Ministry luncheon honoring area clergy and spiritual directors at the Sewanee Inn. This event immediately followed the final SMC in-person retreat, where the Rev. Timothy Grayson served as chaplain. Father Grayson, who co-authored "Keeping in Tune with God: Listening Hearts Discernment for Clergy," spoke of the challenges of pastoring today and the importance of maintaining lively relationships with colleagues in ministry.

Charles Martin, St. Luke’s president, snapped this photo of seminarians and professor Becky Wright - all members of the seminary’s Schola Cantorum - who, along with others, joined the University Choir and Sewanee Praise to form the mass choir for the Installation of Vice-Chancellor Pearigen on Thursday!
Representatives from the School of Theology faculty and student body participated in numerous ways throughout the liturgy.

This morning, Dean Turrell is talking to the new members of the University’s Board of Trustees (including a number of School of Theology alumni!) about the seminary and its important role in Sewanee’s identity!

Even the COTA bulletins are excited about Bishop Gene Robinson’s visit & honorary degree this week! 🏳️‍🌈

A Blessed Feast of St. Francis!

Most high, omnipotent, good Lord, grant your people grace to renounce gladly the vanities of this world; that, following the way of blessed Francis, we may, for love of you, delight in your whole creation with perfectness of joy; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

This evening Sewanee Spoken Word, the Roberson Project, and the Creative Writing Program co-hosted an open mic event celebrating Sewanee honorary degree recipients Natasha Threthewey (former US Poet Laureate) and the Rt. Rev. Gene Robinson.

Audra Ryes, T’24 served as one of the event hosts, and the Rev. Casey Perkins, T’22 read Bishop Robinson’s prayer from the 2009 inauguration of President Barack Obama.

Lecture 1 with the Rev. Canon Dr. Lizette Larson-Miller is underway!
We’re excited to have alumni and friends from all over here with us for today’s lectures and homecoming events.
Didn’t make it to the Mountain this year? Watch online - visit theologyhomecoming.sewanee.edu

❤️💜💛 HAPPY HOMECOMING WEEK! 💛💜❤️

Up with the Church!

Fall Convocation—October 2023 The University’s Fall Convocation will be held at 4:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 6. Three honorary degrees will be presented, awards and honors will be announced, and new members will be inducted into the Order of the Gown.

Check out the exciting things that the Center for Religion and Environment are doing!
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It was a gorgeous day on the Mountain. So we weren’t surprised to find Dean Turrell & Sibby Anderson-Thompkins, Vice Provost of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion having their meeting on the Quad!

We're excited about this new Lunch & Learn Series where you can tune in to hear from our incredible faculty members about their scholarship and work.
Mark your calendar for these upcoming Thursday sessions and be sure to register at: https://theology.sewanee.edu/continuing-education-workshops/faculty-online-lunch-learn-series/
Additional dates and topics coming soon!

We love this week of firsts as we kick off a new academic year!
Yesterday we celebrated our first Principal Eucharist and community lunch of the year. It was a joy to have several alumni and friends of the seminary in attendance to help us kick off this Advent Term!

On the morning of Sept. 28, as part of the 2023 Annual Lectures & Homecoming, the School of Theology will offer a choice of workshops for continuing education presented by alumni, faculty, and staff. Visit theologyhomecoming.sewanee.edu to learn more!

We spotted Sister Madeleine Mary, CSM, T'08 of the Community of St. Mary, Southern Province in this post from The Episcopal Church. Sewanee is proud to be an intergenerational seminary and larger community here on the Mountain!

Our “Aging is Changing” program offers clergy and lay leaders a chance to explore different perspectives on aging and to open our hearts to the potential of this generation. Visit https://www.episcopalchurch.org/ministries/faith-formation/older-adults/ to learn more!

Sewanee has been proudly hosting the Episcopal Latino Ministry Competency Course (ELMC) for more than 5 years; and we love welcoming our alumni and students as well as friends new and old to the Mountain for this important formation offering hosted by the Episcopal Church's Office of Latino Ministries - headed up by the School of Theology's dear friend, the Rev. Canon Anthony Guillén.
This year, participants got a special treat as the Rev. Yuri Rodríguez, T'23 presented about Latin American music and led music for worship throughout the week.
We are so grateful to work with the Office of Ethnic Ministries to bring ELMC to Sewanee to the Church each summer!

📸 Photos:
•The Rev. Yuri Rodríguez, T'23 presents a session on Latin American music in the Episcopal Church
•Sewanee alumni, current student, and faculty participants and leaders in this year's ELMC
•The 2023 ELMC closing Eucharist with student, alumni, faculty and friends leading and serving in worship

Hannah Matis, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Associate Professor of Church History weighs-in on the rigors and vital importance of residential seminary life. Read more at The Living Church: https://covenant.livingchurch.org/2023/07/28/setting-the-believers-an-example-strategy-and-tactics-in-online-seminary-education/

On Sunday, the Rev. Dr. Nancee Martin, T'00, T'08 (& Alumni Council Member) worshiped at St. Aidan's Episcopal Church, Boulder, CO where Charles Martin, T'24 (& St. Luke's President) was preaching. This was an EQB moment - off the Mountain and across the Church!

Quite the gathering of Sewanee alumni, faculty, staff, & students at today’s ordination of the Rev. Kat Chappell, T’23 to the priesthood!

We had a blast connecting with Episcopal friends from across the church and the country this week at “It’s All About Love”!!!
❤️💛🧡💙

It was a joy to host 'Why Serve' in Sewanee just a few weeks ago! During their time on campus, participants got to ask questions about discernment and vocation and hear thoughts from Dean Turrell and other School of Theology faculty.

Read more about 'Why Serve' from Episcopal News Service here: https://www.episcopalnewsservice.org/2023/06/27/episcopalians-of-color-assemble-at-why-serve-to-learn-about-vocation-opportunities-build-relationships/

BRAVO and THANK YOU to the 265 alumni who have financially supported the School of Theology this fiscal year.
Haven't had a chance to give? It's not too late. Our fiscal year ends at midnight. Visit theologysupport.sewanee.edu to make your gift today!

💜💛 We love when School of Theology folks come together off the Mountain and across the Church! 💛💜
Recently there was quite the gathering of Sewanee alumni, current students, trustees, regents, and staff gathered for the ordinations of the Rev. Rufus Van Horn, T'23 and the Rev. Katie Sorey, T'23 in Mississippi. We also received this photo from the ordination of the Rev. Joe Kennedy, T'23 Michigan with fellow alumni and seminarians.
Congrats to the newly ordained and "up with the Church!"

*Be sure to send us photos of Sewanee folks gathered at your events!*

The Rev. Dr. Robert MacSwain was spotted reading on the grounds at Gladstone's Library in Wales last week - wearing a Sewanee t-shirt, of course!

We'd love to know where your summer travels are taking you. Send us a photo showing your Sewanee pride and you might just see yourself on our Theolog channels!

🖤 ❤️ 💛 💚 🖤
Almighty God, you rescued your people from slavery in Egypt, and throughout the ages you have never failed to hear the cries of the captives; We remember before you our sisters and brothers in Galveston, Texas who [on this day] received the glad tidings of their emancipation; Forgive us for the many grave sins that delayed that liberating word; Anoint us with your Spirit to bring good news to the poor, to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim the year of your favor; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
🖤 ❤️ 💛 💚 🖤
A collect for Juneteenth - written by the Rt. Rev. Deon Johnson, Bishop of Missouri

It seems like our 2023 commencement was only yesterday, but there are just 15 days until our fiscal year ends on June 30!
Please consider supporting our seminarians and help us send them into the world unencumbered by debt, free to live into their ministries, sharing the good news wherever God is calling them.
Visit theologysupport.sewanee.edu to give today!

We're excited about this upcoming event being offered in conjunction with the EfM Conference (efm.sewanee.edu) and Advanced Degrees and ACTS summer program sessions at the School of Theology! Join us in-person or online!
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Termaine Hicks to speak Wednesday, June 21 at 7:00 p.m. CDT. Wrongly accused and incarcerated as a young man, Termaine Hicks made national news when he was exonerated and released from prison after a 19-year fight for justice. Come hear Hicks speak at the Blackman Auditorium (Woods Labs / Spencer Hall) on the campus of the University of the South or join us via live stream webinar: hickszoom.sewanee.edu
The lecture, funded by the Samuel Marshall Beattie Lecture Fund, is free and open to the public. All are encouraged to attend.

The slower pace of summer goes hand-in-hand with sabbaticals, and the Rev. Scott Lee, C’73, T’92, recently shared news about his “time off” (so to speak!). Scott said that, through the end of June, he’ll be serving as sabbatical substitute priest at the Parish of St. Mark & St. Paul here in Sewanee. (The pic is a glimpse of his ministry in action!) In August, he’ll begin serving as short-term supply priest at Christ Memorial Church in Kilauea, on the island of Kauai in Hawaii, remaining there through October. From the Mountain to the Islands—what a way to spend the season! If you have sabbatical news, or a summer update, we’d love to hear from you.

We’re still reliving Commencement ‘23 memories! Here are a few more pics from Friday’s festivities—and a couple of photos from Saturday’s installation of the Rt. Rev. Dr. Jake Owensby, T’97, H’12, as 26th Chancellor of the University. What a joyful weekend on the Mountain! If you missed our Commencement Eucharist, you can find a recording at the link below:

https://vimeo.com/549878191?share=copy

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Huge congrats to T’23! You did it! It was a joy celebrating our 32 graduates at this morning’s Commencement Eucharist. The Rev. Gay Clark Jennings, former president of the Episcopal Church’s House of Deputies, delivered the sermon and received an honorary doctorate of divinity. YSR!

Great to see this mini-reunion in New Jersey! Not long ago, the Rev. Andy Olivo, T’11, invited the Rev. Dr. Rob MacSwain, Associate Professor of Theology, to participate in 100th anniversary celebrations at St. Elizabeth’s Episcopal Church in Ridgewood, NJ, where Andy is rector. Rob delivered a guest sermon and spoke at the church’s adult forum. No word on whether the Sewanee Tiger tagged along to meet the Princeton Tiger, though that would have been a great photo opportunity!

Have you heard about Sewanee’s Chaplains in Residence program? It places seminarians in undergrad dormitories, where they live full-time and offer spiritual guidance to students of all faiths and walks of life. This year, Tara Bartal, T’23, Sam Haisten, T’24, and William Simerly, T’24 served as Chaplains in Residence. William recently snapped this photo of himself with res life staff and student proctors. You can tell they’re a close-knit bunch!

May keeps getting better and better! We’re delighted that the Rev. Kevin M. Goodman will soon join the School of Theology as Executive Director of the Education for Ministry (EfM) program. We’ll welcome Kevin in July, following the retirement of EfM’s current, well-loved Executive Director Karen Meridith. You may know that Kevin has been serving the EfM community for more than 30 years as a trainer and mentor—but were you also aware that he leads retreats creating Christian community at popular tourist destinations, including Walt Disney World? A priest with many talents!

You can read more about Kevin at this link:
https://theology.sewanee.edu/news/kevin-goodman-appointed-executive-director-of-efm/

On this sunny first day of May, we are celebrating fantastic news—School of Theology alumna the Rt. Rev. Anne B. Jolly, T’13, has been ordained and consecrated as Bishop Coadjutor of the Diocese of Ohio. She will be the first woman to serve as Ohio’s diocesan bishop. A proud moment for Bishop Jolly and for us!

If you read our Theolog Gazette, you may remember Bishop Jolly’s Alumni Spotlight from the March 2022 issue, in which she discussed her work as rector at St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church in Deerfield, IL. You can read that piece here:

https://theology.sewanee.edu/media/features/alumni-spotlight-the-rev-anne-jolly/

As we are winding down the academic year here at the School of Theology, ordination season is ramping up! We would like to take a moment to congratulate recently ordained members of the senior class and alumni: The Rev. Tara Bartal, The Rev. Lucas Crossland, The Rev. Tommy Drake, The Rev. Richard Ahlquist, and The Rev. Jane Major. We look forward to more ordinations in the coming months as we move into the spring and early summer! It's a wonderful time for the Church!

Congratulations to the Rev. Yuri Rodríguez-Laureani, T’23, who was recently named to the 2023 Trinity Leadership Fellows cohort! Yuri was selected from more than 900 applicants to be part of this 23-member group of faith leaders, who will receive support and resources for deepening their ministries. The cohort will have its first in-person meeting in New York City this September. From Sewanee to the Big Apple—quite a change of scenery! We’re proud of you, Yuri!

Read Yuri's bio and meet the rest of the cohort at the link below.

Announcing the 2023 Trinity Leadership Fellows Cohort! Trinity Church Wall Street is thrilled to announce the second cohort of the Trinity Leadership Fellows program. These 23 professional and faith leaders were selected from more than 900 applicants, spanning various faith traditions and vocations.